A Pakistani woman wants the federal government to fast-track her citizenship application under an obscure provision of the law that rewards people who provide “services of an exceptional value to Canada.”

In the past, such accommodations have been granted to foreign athletes so they can compete for Canada at the Olympic Games. But in this instance, Bushra Halepota, who has permanent resident status in Canada, says her work with the United Nations to help refugees and efforts to further global peace deserve special consideration.

Halepota’s application was initially rejected by a senior representative of Ahmed Hussen, the federal immigration minister. The representative found that while Halepota’s work was “commendable” and “noble,” awarding her citizenship would invite applications from any person who worked for a humanitarian organization.

But in a decision last week, a Federal Court judge sent the case back for reconsideration after finding that Halepota’s claim was not decided on its merits.

“I strongly believe that Ms. Halepota’s work for the (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) should be considered as exceptional value to Canada because her work is consistent with the Canadian mandate to save lives, reduce suffering and help those affected by conflicts,” her Toronto lawyer, Nilofar Ahmadi, told the National Post in an email.

Vancouver lawyer Richard Kurland, who frequently comments on immigration matters, says cases like this one are “rarer than hens’ teeth” but Halepota may have a legitimate argument.

“There are cases where common sense says Canadian citizenship is clearly deserved,” he said. “At stake could be a spot on the Olympic team, or a lifetime career at UNHCR and the person needs their citizenship badly.”

Halepota, whose children and sisters are Canadian citizens and live in Canada, first applied for citizenship in 2009. But in June 2017, a citizenship judge rejected her application on the grounds she had not spent enough time in Canada.

So she applied for special consideration under section 5(4) of the Citizenship Act, which gives the minister discretion to “grant citizenship to any person to alleviate cases of statelessness or of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada.”

There are cases where common sense says Canadian citizenship is clearly deserved

Officials with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada were unable to provide data on how many people have been granted citizenship under this provision. But media reports over the years indicate these special accommodations have been granted to professional athletes.

In 2013, for instance, citizenship was granted to American ice dancer Piper Gilles in time for her to compete for Canada at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.

And in 2012, citizenship was given to Eugene Zhen Wang, a top-ranked, Chinese-born table tennis player, so he could compete for Canada at the Olympic Summer Games in London.

But the immigration minister’s representative earlier this year said while Halepota’s work with the United Nations provides valuable services to vulnerable people and aligns with Canada’s humanitarian assistance goals, “I am not satisfied that this work constitutes exceptional service to Canada.”

In asking the Federal Court to review that decision, Halepota’s lawyer wrote that if Canada was willing to fast-track citizenship to professional athletes, “surely we can provide citizenship to a UNHCR employee who can assist Canada in furthering its peacekeeping goals.”

Halepota has served with the United Nations since 1994 and has been posted around the world, including New York, Armenia, Pakistan and Iraq. She is currently in Nepal.

At times, “she has placed herself in dangerous environments to further global peace and security,” Ahmadi wrote to the court.

Ahmadi went on to write that if Halepota followed the regular path to citizenship, she would “have to quit the only job where she has a substantial amount of experience in and skills that have developed over the years.”

Halepota already faces a risk of losing her permanent resident status because of her frequent travel obligations, her lawyer added.

Federal lawyers countered by saying that Halepota’s work had “no nexus to Canada.”

But in sending the case back to the government for reconsideration, Judge Sebastien Grammond wrote that there is no requirement in the provision that services be provided to the Canadian government or a Canadian entity — they must simply have “value to Canada.”

“Canada values multilateral action through the United Nations. Hence, services rendered to the United Nations must be considered as having value to Canada,” he wrote.

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